Knowledge-based urban development processes of an emerging knowledge city : Brisbane, Australia

In the global knowledge economy, to attract and retain knowledge-intensive industries and workers, cities produce various development strategies. Such strategising is an important development mechanism for cities to complete their transformation into knowledge cities. This paper discusses the critical connections between knowledge city foundations and integrated knowledge-based urban development strategies, and scrutinises Brisbane’s strategies in attracting and retaining investment and talent. The paper introduces a knowledge-based urban development assessment framework and uses this framework to provide a clearer understanding of Brisbane’s knowledge-based development processes and knowledge city transformation experience. The assessment framework particularly focuses on examining Brisbane’s four development processes, institutional, economic, socio-cultural and urban development, in detail. The findings reveal that although Brisbane is still in early stages of its transformation into a fully-fledged knowledge city, global orientation and achievements of Brisbane in strategising knowledge-based urban development are noteworthy.

Moving towards a knowledge city? Brisbane's experience in knowledge-based urban development

: In the global knowledge economy, knowledge-intensive industries and knowledge workers are extensively seen as the primary factors to improve the welfare and competitiveness of cities. To attract and retain such industries and workers, cities produce knowledge-based urban development strategies, where such strategising is also an important development mechanism for cities and their economies. This paper investigates knowledge-based urban development strategies of Brisbane, Australia that support generation, attraction, and retention of investment and talent. The paper puts forward a clear understanding on the policy frameworks, and relevant applications of Brisbane’s knowledge-based urban development experience in becoming a prosperous knowledge city, and concludes by providing invaluable insights and directions for other cities seeking knowledge-based urban development.

Knowledge-based urban development redefined : from theory to practice knowledge-based development of cities

The concept of knowledge-based urban development has first come to the urban planning and development agenda during the very last years of the 20th century as a promising paradigm to support the transformation process of cities into knowledge cities and their societies into knowledge societies. However, soon after the exponentially rapid advancements experienced, during the first decade of the 21st century, particularly, in the domains of economy, society, management and technology along with the severe impacts of climate change, have made the redefinition of the term a necessity. This paper, first, reports the findings of the review of the relatively short but dynamic history of urbanisation experiences of our cities around the globe. The paper, then, focuses on the 21st century urbanisation context and discusses the conceptual base of the knowledge-based development of cities and how this concept found application ground in many parts of the world. Following this, the paper speculates development of future cities by particularly highlighting potential challenges and opportunities that previously have not been fully considered. This paper, lastly, introduces and elaborates how relevant theories support the better conceptualisation of this relatively new, but rapidly emerging paradigm, and redefines it accordingly.

Planning for knowledge based urban development in Malaysia : Cyberjaya @ Multimedia Super Corridor

Knowledge based urban development (KBUD) is a new paradigm in urban planning tailoring to the era of knowledge economy. It aims mainly to assist a contemporary city to promote a more sustainable socio-spatial order. The paper reports on the investigation of KBUD initiative in Malaysia which is manifested through the establishment of a project called Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). MSC Malaysia aims to attract knowledge workers and industries to invest and operate within the area by creating a world class urban corridor with state-of-the-art multimedia infrastructure, efficient transportation system and an attractive living environment. Based on documents analysis and interviews, this paper analyses the strategies, implementations, and achievements of KBUD initiative in Cyberjaya, being the leading intelligent city of the unique Malaysia’s KBUD project-MSC Malaysia. A critical evaluation is made to assess the achievements of MSC, by looking at the physical changes after about ten years since its official launching. The findings recommend some valuable lessons for other cities that strive to develop KBUD strategies, strengthen their sustainable socio-spatial policies, and seek a global recognition.

Knowledge based urban development in classrooms : planning Taipei's knowledge based development

Rapid urbanisation of the global population over the last two centuries has inevitably brought with it a number of challenges and opportunities for economic, environmental and social sustainability of regions. This is arguably a result of rapid globalisation and subsequent growth in knowledge and service based economic markets. This paper reviews the introduction of a specialised teaching structure where the concepts of Knowledge Based Urban Development and Knowledge Cities were taught to various students of the discipline of Urban and Regional Planning at the Queensland University of Technology, through their study tour to the city of Taipei, Taiwan. The concepts were conveyed under the name ‘Taipei Metropolis Knowledge Based Regional Planning Studio’ and its methodology reviewed a series of tasks that was considered to provide a stronger level of understanding of how Knowledge Cities and Knowledge Based Urban Development had been formed in some areas of Taiwan. Findings from this international collaborative planning studio indicate that students have gained a greater level of understanding and insight into planning systems and processes in a trans-cultural context. The students have also been exposed to ideas and knowledge that have challenged conventional perspectives and encouraged global awareness.

Exploratory investigation of atmospheric total suspended particulate matter and heavy metals in urban air

Atmospheric concentration of total suspended particulate matter (TSP) and associated heavy metals are a great concern due to their adverse health impacts and contribution to stormwater pollution. This paper discusses the outcomes of a study which investigated the variation of atmospheric TSP and heavy metal concentrations with traffic and land use characteristics during weekdays and weekends. Data for this study was gathered from fifteen sites at the Gold Coast, Australia using a high volume air sampler. The study detected consistently high TSP concentrations during weekdays compared to weekends. This confirms the significant influence of traffic related sources on TSP loads during weekdays. Both traffic and land use related sources equally contribute to TSP during weekends. Almost all the measured heavy metals showed high concentration on weekdays compared to weekends indicating significant contributions from traffic related emissions. Among the heavy metals, Zn concentration was the highest followed by Pb. It is postulated that re-suspension of previously deposited reserves was the main Pb source. Soil related sources were the main contributors of Mn.

Fault isolation in distributed generation connected distribution networks

Protection of a distribution network in the presence of distributed generators (DGs) using overcurrent relays is a challenging task due to the changes in fault current levels and reverse power flow. Specifically, in the presence of current limited converter interfaced DGs, overcurrent relays may fail to isolate the faulted section either in grid connected or islanded mode of operation. In this paper, a new inverse type relay is presented to protect a distribution network, which may have several DG connections. The new relay characteristic is designed based on the measured admittance of the protected line. The relay is capable of detecting faults under changing fault current levels. The relay performance is evaluated using PSCAD simulation and laboratory experiments.

Distribution feeder voltage support and power factor control by distributed multiple inverters

The potential of distributed reactive power control to improve the voltage profile of radial distribution feeders has been reported in literature by few authors. However, the multiple inverters injecting or absorbing reactive power across a distribution feeder may introduce control interactions and/or voltage instability. Such controller interactions can be alleviated if the inverters are allowed to operate on voltage droop. First, the paper demonstrates that a linear shallow droop line can maintain the steady state voltage profile close to reference, up to a certain level of loading. Then, impacts of the shallow droop line control on line losses and line power factors are examined. Finally, a piecewise linear droop line which can achieve reduced line losses and close to unity power factor at the feeder source is proposed.

Distributed DSTATCOMs for distribution line enhancement

Distribution feeder voltage reinforcement by multiple site reactive power compensation systems has recently been reported by many researchers. However, voltage control by multiple DSTATCOMs across a distribution feeder may introduce control interactions and/or voltage instability. This paper addresses these control interaction issues and proposes a control scheme that alleviates interactions among controllers. The proposed control scheme also enhances proper sharing of reactive power among DSTATCOMs. A mathematical model of a distribution system with any number of DSTATCOMs is developed to investigate the performance of the control system. This mathematical model is used to conduct eigenvalue analysis to develop the criterion for controller design. The proposed control scheme is tested in time domain on a sample radial distribution feeder installed with multiple DSTATCOMs and test results are presented.

Impact of urban traffic and climate change on water quality from road runoff

Urban traffic and climate change are two phenomena that have the potential to degrade urban water quality by influencing the build-up and wash-off of pollutants, respectively. However, limited knowledge has made it difficult to establish any link between pollutant buildup and wash-off under such dynamic conditions. In order to safeguard urban water quality, adaptive water quality mitigation measures are required. In this research, pollutant build-up and wash-off have been investigated from a dynamic point of view which incorporated the impacts of changed urban traffic as well as changes in the rainfall characteristics induced by climate change. The study has developed a dynamic object classification system and thereby, conceptualised the study of pollutant build-up and wash-off under future changes in urban traffic and rainfall characteristics. This study has also characterised the buildup and wash-off processes of traffic generated heavy metals, volatile, semi-volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons under dynamic conditions which enables the development of adaptive mitigation measures for water quality. Additionally, predictive frameworks for the build-up and wash-off of some pollutants have also been developed.

Identifying parent perspectives to guide active travel intervention with small populations : case study in Denver, Colorado

This paper investigates a strategy for guiding school-based active travel intervention. School-based active travel programs address the travel behaviors and perceptions of small target populations (i.e., at individual schools) so they can encourage people to walk or bike. Thus, planners need to know as much as possible about the behaviors and perceptions of their target populations. However, existing strategies for modeling travel behavior and segmenting audiences typically work with larger populations and may not capture the attitudinal diversity of smaller groups. This case study used Q technique to identify salient travel-related attitude types among parents at an elementary school in Denver, Colorado; 161 parents presented their perspectives about school travel by rank-ordering 36 statements from strongly disagree to strongly agree in a normalized distribution, single centered around no opinion. Thirty-nine respondents' cases were selected for case-wise cluster analysis in SPSS according to criteria that made them most likely to walk: proximity to school, grade, and bus service. Analysis revealed five core perspectives that were then correlated with the larger respondent pool: optimistic walkers, fair-weather walkers, drivers of necessity, determined drivers, and fence sitters. Core perspectives are presented—characterized by parents' opinions, personal characteristics, and reported travel behaviors—and recommendations are made for possible intervention approaches. The study concludes that Q technique provides a fine-grained assessment of travel behavior for small populations, which would benefit small-scale behavioral interventions

Traction power system simulation in electrified railways

Electricity has been the major source of power in most railway systems. Reliable, efficient and safe power distribution to the trains is vitally important to the overall quality of railway service. Like any large-scale engineering system, design, operation and planning of traction power systems rely heavily on computer simulation. This paper reviews the major features on modelling and the general practices for traction power system simulation; and introduces the development of the latest simulation approach with discussions on simulation results and practical applications. Remarks will also be given on the future challenges on traction power system simulation.

Seeing the outer suburbs : addressing the urban bias in creative place thinking

Seeing the outer suburbs: addressing the urban bias in creative place thinking, Regional Studies. This paper draws upon quantitative and qualitative research into Australian cities to question the assumption that creative industries workers inherently seek to cluster in inner-urban areas. It challenges this foundational assumption by combining a critical application of the location quotient analysis of major Australian cities with qualitative research drawn from interviews with creative workers based in suburban Melbourne and Brisbane. The findings provide analyses as to why many creative industries workers prefer to locate themselves in outer suburban places. There is also discussion of the implications of these findings for future work on the cultural geography and policies of creative industries.